JAKARTA, 2013, June 22 - We are deeply concerned about the forest fires and the resulting haze in Riau province Sumatra, which affects our employees and communities as well as neighbouring countries.
We do not practice, and highly condemn the slash and burn activity for its detrimental impact to the environment and the rainforests. We strongly urge others to support us in implementing zero burning and zero deforestation practices.
Our fire fighting crews, together with community members, have been working hard to control the fires in our suppliers' concessions. The task is very complex because of the combination between strong wind, high temperature and the fact that the fire has reached peat land.
Working together with our partner, Eka Hospital, we are organising an emergency clinic to help those who need health assistance in the area.
We would welcome any opportunity to work with NGOs, companies, communities and governments to find a cross-sector strategy to address this international problem. As per our Forest ConservationPolicy, we are committed to transparency and we invite our stakeholders to investigate this matter with us.